I am not a breakfast fan – I never have been. I know, I know – breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I just don’t get it. Growing up, my breakfast repertoire consisted of one thing – Chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast – every morning – that was it. My sister ate Pop-tarts every morning. O.K., so we weren’t much into nutrition in the 60′s and 70′s! (my entire senior year of high school all I ate for lunch every day was a package of Cheetos and a carton of chocolate milk- please don’t tell my mom!)
Then I married a man whose mother would get up every morning (no matter what the time) and fix him a nice, hot breakfast before he would go to school or off to move pipe in the potato fields of Idaho. Well, he learned really quickly that I didn’t do that. As a result, my husband has become a great breakfast cook. Most of the time, if there is a hot breakfast to be found at our house, dad has fixed it.
My kids have learned how to pour a bowl of cold cereal in the morning or grab a bagel and cream cheese. Now, lest you think I am a terrible mother, I will cook a nice breakfast on Sunday mornings, birthdays, holidays or for the occasional dinner. I do like breakfast for dinner and I love brunch, I’m just not a big morning breakfast person.
The one time I will eat breakfast though is when we are in Utah visiting our sweet college boys. They love to have breakfast at a local restaurant called Maglebys. I go for the syrup – it is amazing!! Whether you order the french toast or the pancakes – the syrup is the best part. I have pancakes just so I can have syrup.
I was excited when a friend gave me the recipe for Buttermilk Syrup so this past week I made french toast (from the Barefoot Contessa, I did not use challah bread but just some nice thick sliced bread) and smothered it in syrup!
Buttermilk Syrup
1 cube butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. corn syrup
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Bring first five ingredients to a boil. Add baking soda. Boil 10 seconds and remove from heat immediately to avoid boil over. I use a fairly deep, heavy pan.
1. add vanilla after you take it off the stove
2. if you will boil it longer (5 minutes or so), it will get a little darker and thicker – and the flavors blend much better.
I love this recipe, but every time I make it, the syrup separates as it cools. I want to put it up in Mason jars (for gifts, maybe sell a few), but it just doesn’t look very appealing once it separates. Is there any way to prevent it from separating? I have tried: adding the baking soda at different stages; using real butter, hard margarine, and a blend of both; water-bath processing the sealed jars, and not processing; cooking for more or less time. Nothing seems to help, it always separates. Driving me nuts. Help, please.
Wish I had a solution for you but I don’t. It is one of the things that is just better eaten fresh and warm. It would make a great gift though. When they reheat it it will be fine but you are right that it doesn’t look too pretty. If you figure something out let me know!